The New York Yankees’ postseason fate has come down to a weekend in Arlington, Texas. Truth is, the only apparent advantage they have is in terms of payroll.

Not only do they have to win two more in a row; the second one will come against Cliff Lee, who completely dominated them in Game 3 in the midst of his historic postseason run.

Five games into this American League Championship Series, the Yankees have been outscored 32-18 — 25-5 in a stretch of three consecutive losses — out-hit .316 to .218, and left behind in the running game, nine stolen bases to two.

Even after the Yankees’ Game 5 victory that sent the series back to Texas, the Rangers’ trip to the Bronx could only be termed a success. They did exactly what they needed to do by winning two of three, stripping away a long-held Yankees’ postseason advantage.

In fact, it was hard to tell what was more alarming — the results on the field, or the change in fan base — read: corporate crowd that bailed early on back-to-back nights as the Yankees were embarrassed in Games 3 and 4.

But a sense of vulnerability also has crept in during this series. The Yankees are operating on borrowed time — every look at the more-athletic and aggressive team in the other dugout has to tell them that.

So no matter what happens this weekend, and the rest of this postseason, the game’s most-successful franchise finds itself in a pivotal transition phase, the impact of which can’t be understated.

It took a decade to work through the transition that followed the 1996-2000 run of four titles. And this time, we’re talking about legendary icons being involved:

The passing of George Steinbrenner and handing over of the team to his sons; the creeping-ever-closer ends for future first-ballot Hall of Famers Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, plus Cooperstown maybes Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada.

Last winter goes down as a failure for general manager Brian Cashman. Coming off the club’s first title since 2000, Cashman chose to tweak, and for the most part failed at that.

He dealt for Javier Vazquez and signed Nick Johnson, and neither made it to the postseason. Curtis Granderson had a just-OK year, and that deal cost Austin Jackson, who might be the AL Rookie of the Year.

It’s going to take a much more aggressive and bold approach this off-season. It’s going to take more than tweaking for the 2011 Yankees to have a legitimate shot at another championship.

Are the Yankees in a “pivotal transition phase” as DeMarco states here? Well, if not, they’re getting close to it. The Core Four ain’t getting any younger. A-Rod is aging as well. Maybe Tex too – sorta/kinda? And, an outfield of Gardner, Granderson and Swisher, while nice, lacks the production that would make up for what the Yankees used to get from other places (which put them ahead of the league in those positions). Hughes still needs to improve his consistency. And, Burnett…well…do I have to say it?

Comments on Yanks On Borrowed Time?

So, maybe DeMarco is right here. What do you think?
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DeMarco makes the facile arguments, most of which are common memes but nevertheless wrong.

I’d FJM his points but we’ve covered this territory so many times already that it’s pointless. Those who want to believe a black-and-white, mainstream point of view are welcome to do so. Doesn’t make DeMarco’s points correct. The world isn’t flat, even if some folks believed it was in the 1500’s.

The Granderson trade was not a bust. His “OK” year did not prevent the Yanks from entering the postseason and he has been the only consistent bat this postseason along with Cano. The guy is getting it done in October.

His “OK” year was the best season by a Yankee CF since Bernie Williams in 2002. Those who knock Granderson should constantly remind themselves of just how much he’s brought to the table, his lousy April-June notwithstanding. Defense all season and offense in the second half have been solidly above average to very good.

DeMarco must be one of those guys that still thinks batting average matters.

News flash: if the Yankees lose, it’s instant fodder for all this drek. Comes with the territory of being a perennial competitor and a successful franchise. Since we won last year, we’ve been spared for 12 months, but if we don’t win it all, then the writers all have their fall-back themes set for the year.

I actually think the transition is proceeding pretty well:
Jorge’s nearly out of gas. Montero and Romine.
Andy will retire: Lee or other FA, plus prospects Brackman, Nova, etc.
Jeter: No replacement yet, but we do have gloves, and Cano has completely eclipsed him as a straight up hitter
Mo: Irreplaceable, so you do your best here.

There are moves to make, but I disagree that there’s a complete overhaul. The Yanks always have to make moves, because they have to win every year.

1. Catchers on the way.
2. Pitching on the way.
3. They’ll fight tooth and nail for Lee.
4. They have $20-$40 million coming off payroll every year for the next 3-4 years, so they can pay for solid replacements, without raising the payroll significantly.
5. All year long, and even unto the last 2-3 days, we’ve been hearing how the Yanks have missed Damon and Matsui. How much closer to the abyss would the Yanks be if they’d held onto them, and kept them in key rolls?

DeMarco makes the (sic) facile arguments, most of which are common memes but nevertheless wrong.

Yeah… those facile arguments and common memes certainly were proven wrong and incorrect.

Evan3457 wrote:

1. Catchers on the way.

What happened with those catchers?

Evan3457 wrote:

2. Pitching on the way.

What happened with that pitching?

Evan3457 wrote:

3. They’ll fight tooth and nail for Lee.

What happened with Lee?

Evan3457 wrote:

4. They have $20-$40 million coming off payroll every year for the next 3-4 years, so they can pay for solid replacements, without raising the payroll significantly.

What happened with those solid replacements? And what happened with that $215 million payroll?

Evan3457 wrote:

5. All year long, and even unto the last 2-3 days, we’ve been hearing how the Yanks have missed Damon and Matsui. How much closer to the abyss would the Yanks be if they’d held onto them, and kept them in key rolls?

What happened with the 2010 A.L.C.S.? Did New York win its second A.L. Pennant of the Cashman Autonomy Era with PHIL HUGHES making TWO starts? Did Hughes finish the series with an E.R.A. below 11.00?

Yeah… those facile arguments and common memes certainly were proven wrong and incorrect.

Yeah, they were. Yanks won the division the next two years.

What happened with those catchers?

The one on top got traded.One got hurt, basically missed a year’s development, and made his major league debut this year. The others are still on the way.

What happened with that pitching?

A lot of it got hurt; that happens to a lot of young pitchers. Several of those are on the way back now.

What happened with Lee?

He decided he didn’t want to play for the Yankees, at any price, possibly because of what happened to his wife, possibly because he loved his first stay with the Phillies. No fault to the Yankees.

What happened with those solid replacements? And what happened with that $215 million payroll?

Corporate change in policy at the ownership level cut that off for a few years. I’d expect that to be lifted after the 2014 season. The 2014 season may be awful, but Hal’s apparently willing to risk that.

5. All year long, and even unto the last 2-3 days, we’ve been hearing how the Yanks have missed Damon and Matsui. How much closer to the abyss would the Yanks be if they’d held onto them, and kept them in key rolls?

Damon had a mediocre year in 2010, and helped the Tigers finish at .500. He then had a mediocre year in 2011 for the Rays, and helped them lose in 4 games to the same team that beat the Yanks for the pennant. By 2012, he was finished as a useful player.

Matsui had a mediocre first four months with the Angels in 2010. By the time he got hot in August, the Angels were already 10 games out; they never got closer than 7 games out of 1st, and 8 games behind the Wild Card. In 2011, he was worse than mediocre for the A’s, who finished 14 games under .500. As with Damon, by 2012, he was finished as a useful player.

What Hughes did in the ALCS in 2010 is irrevelant to the decision to let Damon and Matsui go, hence, I didn’t mention it.

Don’t you get how pathetic it is to go digging through past posts to try to win arguments you’ve already lost many times over? Everything I said in that post was correct at the time I said it.

But, as usual, keep flailing, chump.
What happened with the 2010 A.L.C.S.? Did New York win its second A.L. Pennant of the Cashman Autonomy Era with PHIL HUGHES making TWO starts? Did Hughes finish the series with an E.R.A. below 11.00?

What happened with the 2010 A.L.C.S.? Did New York win its second A.L. Pennant of the Cashman Autonomy Era with PHIL HUGHES making TWO starts? Did Hughes finish the series with an E.R.A. below 11.00?

Cashman’s 2010 team was better than Texas, because Cashman’s team won five more games from April-to-October; a team that loses five more games over the course of a 162-game schedule can not be the better team.

Cashman’s 2010 team did not lose to Texas because Hughes pitched terribly in 2 starts in a best-of-seven series that went to only 6 games.

Cashman’s 2010 team lost to the Rangers because of a bad hop on a ground ball in the third inning of Game 1 of the series; if that ball was fielded cleanly, there would have been a completely different outcome in this series. It was that bad hop that turned the momentum against Cashman’s team; the same thing happened in 2011 and in 2012.

Evan3457 wrote:

Everything I said in that post was correct at the time I said it.

@ Evan3457:
There are those words again: “at the time.”

As with every trade that Cashman has made, the trade was incorrect in the end, but it was correct “at the time;” everything you said was incorrect in the end, but it was correct “at the time.”

Evan3457 wrote:

What Hughes did in the ALCS in 2010 is irrevelant to the decision to let Damon and Matsui go, hence, I didn’t mention it.

“Irrelevant to the decision;” I don’t know which is worse: your English, or your logic.

Do you think either Beane or Atlanta might get lucky enough to win two consecutive playoff series, for the first time since 2000, before Cashman gets back to the playoffs, or before Boston wins its fourth World Series?

How much closer to the abyss would the Yanks be if they’d held onto them, and kept them in key rolls?

Evan3457 wrote:

What Hughes did in the ALCS in 2010 is irrevelant to the decision to let Damon and Matsui go, hence, I didn’t mention it.

We were congratuling ourselves for letting the 2009 World Series M.V.P., and a career .312 postseason hitter, go after 2009 and a 2010 season in which he hit .274 with 21 HRs, 84 RBIs, and an .820 OPS, signing Nick Johnson, and entering a postseason with Hughes in the starting rotation of a $215 million team?

Or having a postseason rotation of Sabathia, Pettitte, Burnett, and Hughes?

Congratulations; great moves. Nick Johnson. And by not signing Matsui or Damon, it took until Game 6 of the 2010 A.L.C.S. to fall into the abyss for the next three years, and counting.

Kamieniecki wrote:
What happened with the 2010 A.L.C.S.? Did New York win its second A.L. Pennant of the Cashman Autonomy Era with PHIL HUGHES making TWO starts? Did Hughes finish the series with an E.R.A. below 11.00?
Cashman’s 2010 team was better than Texas, because Cashman’s team won five more games from April-to-October; a team that loses five more games over the course of a 162-game schedule can not be the better team.
Cashman’s 2010 team did not lose to Texas because Hughes pitched terribly in 2 starts in a best-of-seven series that went to only 6 games.
Cashman’s 2010 team lost to the Rangers because of a bad hop on a ground ball in the third inning of Game 1 of the series; if that ball was fielded cleanly, there would have been a completely different outcome in this series. It was that bad hop that turned the momentum against Cashman’s team; the same thing happened in 2011 and in 2012.

Strawman after strawman after strawman.

Everything I said in that post was correct at the time I said it.
@ Evan3457:
There are those words again: “at the time.”

Well, not being able to post in any other time than the present, that’s when the replies were made.

As with every trade that Cashman has made, the trade was incorrect in the end, but it was correct “at the time;” everything you said was incorrect in the end, but it was correct “at the time.”

Wrong in all respects. Keep flailing, chump.

Evan3457 wrote:
What Hughes did in the ALCS in 2010 is irrevelant to the decision to let Damon and Matsui go, hence, I didn’t mention it.
“Irrelevant to the decision;” I don’t know which is worse: your English, or your logic.

Typos by me make your arguments true. Pathetic. LOL funny.

Do you think either Beane or Atlanta might get lucky enough to win two consecutive playoff series, for the first time since 2000, before Cashman gets back to the playoffs, or before Boston wins its fourth World Series?

We were congratuling ourselves for letting the 2009 World Series M.V.P., and a career .312 postseason hitter, go after 2009 and a 2010 season in which he hit .274 with 21 HRs, 84 RBIs, and an .820 OPS, signing Nick Johnson, and entering a postseason with Hughes in the starting rotation of a $215 million team?

Either the team was getting too old, and the players were declining due to age, or not. If you think that was a problem at the time, re-signing Damon and Matsui makes that problem worse, not better. You can’t mock the Yankees, or Cashman, for the team getting old and decrepit, and, at the same call for them to re-sign two 35 year old DH/Left fielders, one with bad knees, the other with diminishing range. You don’t get to have both sides of that argument, if the logic doesn’t completely escape your grasp.

Or having a postseason rotation of Sabathia, Pettitte, Burnett, and Hughes?

Again, re-signing Matsui and Damon has nothing to do with Hughes being the postseason rotation. More superior logic by you to connect the unconnectable. Hughes earned his spot in the 2010 rotation for two reasons. The first is he performed decently in the regular season. The other is the schedule was adjusted to eliminate the extra days off from the previous post-season, making it impossible to go with a three man rotation again.

Hughes pitched an outstanding game against the Twins in the ALDS. He deserved his starts in the ALCS. When they had to go to Burnett in the ALCS, he did no better.

What Hughes did in the ALCS in 2010 is irrevelant to the decision to let Damon and Matsui go, hence, I didn’t mention it.
“Irrelevant to the decision;” I don’t know which is worse: your English, or your logic.
Typos by me make your arguments true. Pathetic. LOL funny.

I know. Isn’t he a scream?

The last troll on the internet who thinks finding typos in replies makes his arguments valid.

@ Evan3457:
Incorrect. Texas, San Francisco, and St. Louis all won pennants or rings – that’s 27 other teams; you’re great with math, too.

Evan3457 wrote:

You can’t mock the Yankees, or Cashman, for the team getting old and decrepit, and, at the same call for them to re-sign two 35 year old DH/Left fielders, one with bad knees, the other with diminishing range.

“… ‘Some of the players I brought in didn’t benefit us as much as I’d expected,’ Cashman said, ‘and some didn’t benefit us at all.’

Cashman said he thought Vazquez, ‘pitching at the back of our rotation,’ would work out better than in 2004…

Cashman said he made Damon ‘the best offer on the market,’ but when Damon turned it down he moved on. By then, Matsui had already signed, so Cashman went to what he called ‘Plan C,’ Nick Johnson, who injured his wrist early in the season and never played much.”

Evan3457 wrote:
The Yanks were losers in 2010 and 2011. Like 28 other teams.
@ Evan3457:
Incorrect. Texas, San Francisco, and St. Louis all won pennants or rings – that’s 27 other teams; you’re great with math, too.

Evan3457 wrote:
You can’t mock the Yankees, or Cashman, for the team getting old and decrepit, and, at the same call for them to re-sign two 35 year old DH/Left fielders, one with bad knees, the other with diminishing range.
“… ‘Some of the players I brought in didn’t benefit us as much as I’d expected,’ Cashman said, ‘and some didn’t benefit us at all.’
Cashman said he thought Vazquez, ‘pitching at the back of our rotation,’ would work out better than in 2004…

Still, off the subject.

Cashman said he made Damon ‘the best offer on the market,’ but when Damon turned it down he moved on. By then, Matsui had already signed

Correct, Matsui was a free agent, and didn’t have to wait until Cashman got Damon at the price and years the Yankees wanted to pay.

Sockpuppets R Us wrote:
Pennants without titles mean your the highest ranking loser for the year.
Oooh, you better watch out ’cause the typo Nazi will be back to claim superiority over you.
@ Evan3457:
Do you ever get tired of being wrong?
As if you’ve EVER proven that.
He really is such a chump, isn’t he? No matter what name he uses.